Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University African-American Studies Theses Department of African-American Studies Summer 7-17-2012 Art for whose Sake?: Defining African American Literature Ebony Z. Gibson Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/aas_theses Recommended Citation Gibson, Ebony Z., "Art for whose Sake?: Defining African American Literature." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2012. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/aas_theses/17 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of African-American Studies at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in African-American Studies Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. ART FOR WHOSE SAKE?: DEFINING AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERATURE by EBONY Z. GIBSON Under the Direction of Jonathan Gayles ABSTRACT This exploratory qualitative study describes the criteria that African American Literature professors use in defining what is African American Literature. Maulana Karenga’s black arts framework shaped the debates in the literature review and the interview protocol; furthermore, the presence or absence of the framework’s characteristics were discussed in the data analysis. The population sampled was African American Literature professors in the United States who have no less than five years experience. The primary source of data collection was in-depth interviewing. Data analysis involved open coding and axial coding. General conclusions include: (1) The core of the African American Literature definition is the black writer representing the black experience but the canon is expanding and becoming more inclusive. (2) While African American Literature is often a tool for empowerment, a wide scope is used in defining methods of empowerment.